Cancer – Page 52 – Trigger Warning Database

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can’t turn off. Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn’t help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she’d be truly crazy to leave the protect… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism, internalised ableism & ableist language
Pure O OCD & intrusive thoughts (theme)
Panic attacks, on-page
Hallucinations & psychosis
Depression (sc)
Suicide by drug overdose recounted, off-page
Hospital mentioned
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a friend, off-page
Death of a mother from terminal cancer mentioned
Prescription drug use mentioned
Bullying

The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott

The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott

Emily and her mum were always lucky. But Emily’s mum’s luck ran out three years ago when she succumbed to cancer. Now, the summer before her senior year, things are worse than ever. Emily has wrecked things with her boyfriend, Matt, and her dad is selling the house she grew up in. The only person she has to talk to is Blake, a girl she barely knows since she moved back to town five seconds ago.

But that’s when Emily finds her mum’s senior year summer bucket list. When Blake suggests that Emily take it on as a challenge, the two set off on a journey to help Emily face her fears over losing her connection to her mum. As she starts to feel closer to her mother, her bond with Blake deepens into something she wasn’t expecting. And suddenly Emily must face another fear: accepting the secret part of herself she never got a chance to share with the person who knew her best.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Coming out themes
Death of a mother to cancer recounted

Violet Ghosts by Leah Thomas

Violet Ghosts by Leah Thomas

Dani’s best friend, Sarah, is a ghost. But maybe that’s normal when you’ve spent your childhood running from an abusive parent.

Dani and Sarah might be more than friends, though Dani dares not say so. Dani is afraid that if he tells Sarah he’s trans, she won’t bother haunting him anymore. Sarah’s got good reason to distrust boys, having been strangled by one.

After Sarah and Dani come across another ghost haunted by her own brutal murder, they set out to bring peace and safety to spirits like her. But when an old rival reenters Dani’s life, their unexpected friendship gives Dani a strange new feeling of belonging. As Dani starts to find his place in the living world, he’ll need to let go of his ghosts.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Transmisia
Misgendering
Child sexual abuse
Rape
Violence against a sex worker
Domestic abuse
Suicide
Strangulation recounted
Murder
Death of an infant to cancer
Bullying

Nowhere Near You by Leah Thomas

Nowhere Near You by Leah Thomas

Ollie and Moritz might never meet, but their friendship knows no bounds. Their letters carry on as Ollie embarks on his first road trip away from the woods–no easy feat for a boy allergic to electricity–and Moritz decides which new school would best suit an eyeless boy who prefers to be alone.

Along the way they meet other teens like them, other products of strange science who lead seemingly normal lives in ways Ollie and Moritz never imagined possible: A boy who jokes about his atypical skeleton; an aspiring actress who hides a strange deformity; a track star whose abnormal heart propels her to victory. Suddenly the future feels wide open for two former hermits. But even as Ollie and Moritz dare to enjoy life, they can’t escape their past, which threatens to destroy any progress they’ve made. Can these boys ever find their place in a world that might never understand them?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Attempted rape
Forced drug use
Terminal cancer
Death of a mother
Death of a friend
Drowning mentioned
Bus accident
Bullying mentioned

Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker. Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times—as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism & ableist language (r slur)
Homomisia & homomisic slurs
Victim blaming
Child abuse
Manic depression
Suicide mentioned
Childbirth
Paralysis
Cancer
Epilepsy & seizures
Hospital
Life-threatening weight loss
Needles
Asphyxia (choking)
Poisoning mentioned
Drowning
Animal death & abuse

A Ferry of Bones & Gold by Hailey Turner

A Ferry of Bones & Gold by Hailey Turner

Patrick Collins is three years into a career as a special agent for the Supernatural Operations Agency when the gods come calling to collect a soul debt he owes them. An immortal has gone missing in New York City and bodies are showing up in the wake of demon-led ritual killings that Patrick recognizes all too easily from his nightmares.

Unable to walk away, Patrick finds himself once again facing off against mercenary magic users belonging to the Dominion Sect. Looking for allies in all the wrong places, Patrick discovers the next target is the same werewolf the Fates themselves have thrown into his path. Patrick has been inexplicably attracted to the man from their first meeting, but desire has no place in war. That doesn’t stop Patrick from wanting what he shouldn’t have. Jonothon de Vere is gorgeous, dangerous, and nothing but trouble—to the case, to the fight against every hell, and ultimately, to Patrick’s heart and soul.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableism
Suicide mentioned
PTSD
Nightmares
Blood & gore depiction
Physical injury
Hospitalisation
Death of a parent mentioned
Torture

We Speak in Storms by Natalie Lund

We Speak in Storms by Natalie Lund

It’s been more than 50 years since a tornado tore through a drive-in movie theater in tiny Mercer, Illinois, leaving dozens of teens — a whole generation of Mercerites — dead in its wake. So when another tornado touches down in the exact same spot on the anniversary of this small-town tragedy, the town is shaken.

For Brenna Ortiz, Joshua Calloway, and Callie Keller, the apprehension is more than just a feeling. Though they seem to share nothing more than a struggle to belong, the teens’ paths continue to intersect, bringing them together when they least expect it, and perhaps, when they need it most. Both the living and the dead have secrets and unresolved problems, but they may be able to find peace and move forward–if only they work together.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia
Sexual assault
Cheating
Disordered eating
Terminal cancer
Death of a parent

Over the Top by Jonathan Van Ness

Over the Top by Jonathan Van Ness

Before he stole our hearts as the grooming and self-care expert on Netflix’s hit show Queer Eye, Jonathan was growing up in a small Midwestern town that didn’t understand why he was so…over the top. From choreographed carpet figure skating routines to the unavoidable fact that he was Just. So. Gay., Jonathan was an easy target and endured years of judgement, ridicule and trauma—yet none of it crushed his uniquely effervescent spirit.

Over the Top uncovers the pain and passion it took to end up becoming the model of self-love and acceptance that Jonathan is today. In this revelatory, raw, and rambunctious memoir, Jonathan shares never-before-told secrets and reveals sides of himself that the public has never seen. JVN fans may think they know the man behind the stiletto heels, the crop tops, and the iconic sayings, but there’s much more to him than meets the Queer Eye.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Homomisia & homomisic slurs
Child sexual abuse
Cheating
Drug use
Substance addiction
Sex addiction
Disordered eating
Suicidal ideation
Cancer
Grief & loss depiction
Death of a grandparent
Death of a step-parent
Bullying

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Area X has been cut off from the rest of the world for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer.

The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one another, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Intimate partner violence recounted
Suicide & attempted suicide discussed
Alcohol consumption
Blood & gore depiction, including physical injuries
Dead bodies
Terminal cancer recounted
Hospital mentioned
Death of a husband recounted
Murder
Gun violence
Mind control & loss of autonomy (theme)
Animal attack

Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington

Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington

*Also titled One Past Midnight

Sabine isn’t like anyone else. For as long as she can remember, she’s had two lives. Every twenty-four hours she “shifts,” living each day twice. In one life, Sabine has everything: popular friends, perfect grades, expensive clothes, and the guy everyone wants. In the other, Sabine’s family struggles financially, and her friends are considered rebels. But then she meets Ethan. He’s gorgeous and challenging, and he makes her feel like she’s never felt before.

All Sabine really wants is the chance to live only one life. But when this finally becomes possible, is she willing to risk everything – including losing the one person who might actually believe her – to make it happen?

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings:

Ableiest language
Self-harm
Suicidal ideation
Overdose
Psychiatric hospital
Forced hospitalisation
Emesis
Cancer
Death of a loved one